Page 49 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
“Fae.” Lucien completed my thought.
“Fae,” I agreed. “It seems Alberta assisted in this assault as well as taking Clinton and stashing him with her treasure. But was Clinton supposed to die and no one find the body? Or maybe he was just supposed to be hidden away until after the full moon?”
“To keep him from fighting with Dallas for pack alpha?” Lucien asked. “There’s someone who doesn’t want Clinton as pack alpha?”
“That would only delay things for a month.” I shook my head. “No, I really think Clinton was supposed to die last night.”
The demon looked down at the werewolf. “We should consider that Alberta’s the reason he’s still alive. I get the impression she stashed him to keep whoever from finishing him off.”
“She thought the assault was only to teach Clinton a lesson, but got alarmed when the assailant took it too far,” I mused, thinking this was very much in keeping with the Alberta I knew. “Instead of disposing of a body where no one could find it, she ties and duct-tapes Clinton and hauls him out with her treasure.”
“But to do what?” Lucien laughed. “Was she planning on keeping him there forever? She must have known that eventually she’d either have to kill him or let him go.”
I smiled. “That’s Alberta. She doesn’t always think ahead. I’m sure she was hoping she could smooth things over with the assailant then set Clinton free.”
“And why would she think that?”
“Because the assailant is her lover,” I told Lucien. “Alberta would do a lot for her friends, but she’ll do anything for a romantic partner—anything except murder evidently.”
“And she’s made it quite clear she’s not going to tell you who that lover is.”
I smiled. “She doesn’t have to. I already know who her lover is. And I intend on confronting the pair of them.”
“And punishing them?” Lucien purred, clearly excited about that idea.
“No.” I hated to disappoint the demon, but this town had seen enough violence. And if things had gone down the way I was thinking, then Alberta and her lover had good reason for wanting Clinton dead.
It was something pretty darned close to self-defense. And self-defense against a werewolf, or even a pack alpha, sometimes involved murder.
